Netflix saw a spike in cancellations after co-founder Reed Hastings said he supported Kamala Harris.
Hastings, who still serves as president of the streaming giant and the face of the company, said he had also donated $7 million to the Democratic candidate’s campaign.
The rate of cancellations – known as churn – nearly tripled in the United States after Hastings’ endorsement on July 22, according to research firm Antenna.
Netflix, the market leader by some margin – with 280 customers worldwide and 84 million in the United States – typically enjoys the lowest churn rate in the industry.
In July, U.S. customers canceled their subscriptions at a rate of 2.8 percent, the highest monthly figure since February. That meant a loss of more than 2 million subscribers.
The cancellations coincided with Donald Trump supporters asking conservatives to remove their subscriptions in response to Hastings’ endorsement of Harris.
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, who now serves as president of the streaming giant, donated $7 million to Kamala Harris’ campaign. After news of the endorsement was revealed, Netflix saw a spike in cancellations.
Hastings, a longtime Democratic donor, endorsed Harris in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 22.
A day later, Hastings told The Information that he had donated $7 million to a pro-Harris super PAC.
Bloomberg noted that July 26 marked the worst day for Netflix cancellations this year, just three days after news of the donation broke.
This increase is also related to Netflix’s decision to phase out its basic ad-free tier.
But experts said the five-day period after Hastings’ endorsement stood out.
In the past, Netflix has attempted to distance itself from Hastings’s political activities. Be wary of offensive subscribers who may have views that differ from left-leaning ones.
But it doesn’t always work. Earlier this summer, he was one of the most vocal public figures calling for President Joe Biden not to run again.
In an email obtained by the New York Times, he said: “Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to defeat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous.”
Netflix will publish its latest results (for the third quarter from July to September) in mid-October. Analysts hope this will provide more details on the impact on subscriptions.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris received the endorsement of Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings.
Reed Hastings’ endorsement angered Donald Trump’s supporters. They urged Republicans to cancel their Netflix subscriptions
Netflix, with 277 million subscribers worldwide, is by far the largest streaming service.
The next closest is Amazon Prime Video, but that’s largely because it includes the service for free with its subscription service.
Until the setback in July, Netflix had been adding customers in recent years.
An important part of that success has been its crackdown on password sharing, which helped it add 13 million new customers last year.
Meanwhile, earlier this year it emerged that Hastings donated 40 per cent of his stake in Netflix – valued at $1.1 billion – to a charity popular with tech billionaires for its tax breaks and privacy.
Hastings made the donation to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation after his Netflix shares rose following a strong earnings report.